Employee Complaint Letter

Issues at work can creep up at any time, including problems with co-workers or with the working conditions around you. Written letters of complaint to a boss or supervisor provide paper evidence that you’ve given a formal complaint as well as how and when you’d like to the problem to be solved. Complaint letters written by an employee to his employer are generally formatted like a standard business letter with a formal and polite tone throughout.

As the manager or owner of a business, you’re tasked with keeping peace among employees and making sure that concerns are immediately addressed. When receiving an employee complaint letter, you must take immediate action and gather all necessary information related to the complaint. This requires you to talk in length with the employee who submitted the letter. Working together with the employee to make sure his concern is addressed results in stronger employee relations.

Step 1

Review the letter and determine the complaint. Read over the letter several times so that you have a full understanding of the employee’s concerns.

Step 2

Call the employee into your office. If you do not have an office, meet with the employee in private. Explain that you received the letter and what you believe to be the employee’s complaint. Ask him if your interpretation of the letter is correct to avoid miscommunication.

Step 3

Tell the employee to provide you with more information, if necessary. Often, complaint letters lack specifics. When the employee can provide you with detailed information, you can propose a more effective solution. For example, suppose the employee complained that a co-worker harasses him. Ask who the co-worker is, what the harassment consists of and how long it’s been going on.

Step 4

Work together with the employee on a solution. Avoid proposing a solution yourself; always try to work on solving the problem with the employee. It’s fine to disagree with the employee’s solution, but try to find a common ground. Once both you and the employee agree on a solution, employ it.

Step 5

Tell the employee to keep you informed about the problem. If it reoccurs, explain that you need to know about it immediately.